Talk:Act of Congress
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Act of Congress is part of WikiProject U.S. Congress, an attempt to build a comprehensive guide to the United States Congress. |
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[edit] Exclusivity?
Question: is the term "act of Congress" US-specific, or is it used in regards to other countries whose legislative bodies are called "Congress"es? --Brion
Per AP Stylebook, "act" should only be capitalized when used as part of the name of a specific piece of legislation. Otherwise, it's not a proper noun, so shouldn't be capitalized.
Should the article mention how the phrase "an Act of Congress" can mean that it takes a lot of work to allow something to happen? Jason McHuff 04:25, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
- If it's a term widely-used to describe something that takes a lot of time\work to happen, then yes, it has a place in the article. 84.108.245.222 09:39, 11 June 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Approval by Congress
The article doesn't say what sort of majority is needed - is it 51%, 50% + 1 congressman or 2/3? Also, is the majority needed to approve an act the same in both houses of Congress and what happens if the House of Reps doesn't approve an act but the Senate does? 84.108.245.222 09:39, 11 June 2007 (UTC)
- The majority needed for any Act of Congress is a majority of each house on the same bill. If only one house passes, but the other house doesn't, then the bill dies. A majority is neither 51% nor 50% +1. It is any number greater than 50%. Thus, for the full Senate, a majority is 51% (which is >50% of 100). For the full House of Representatives, a majority is 218 (>50% of 435).—Markles 03:05, 18 June 2007 (UTC)
- It's a majority of those present (presuming a quorum), not a majority of the full House (435) or Senate (100), that is required for a bill to pass in the House or Senate. So a bill could pass the House (say) with a vote of 200-199. In the Senate, the Vice President can break a tie, so a bill could pass on a vote of (say) 45-45 if the Vice President then votes in favor of the bill, breaking the tie. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 15:50, 23 June 2007 (UTC)
- I was thinking someone might wanna incorporate that into the article, as that's where people will be looking for this sort of information. :) 84.108.245.222 22:20, 25 June 2007 (UTC)
- It's a majority of those present (presuming a quorum), not a majority of the full House (435) or Senate (100), that is required for a bill to pass in the House or Senate. So a bill could pass the House (say) with a vote of 200-199. In the Senate, the Vice President can break a tie, so a bill could pass on a vote of (say) 45-45 if the Vice President then votes in favor of the bill, breaking the tie. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 15:50, 23 June 2007 (UTC)
